Two Gophers from Texas
Two Gophers from Texas is a 1948 Merrie Melodies short starring the Goofy Gophers directed by Arthur Davis and produced by Eddie Selzer. Mel Blanc voiced the unnamed dog and Mac, while an uncredited Stan Freberg voiced Tosh. The title is a pun on Two Guys From Texas, a comedy released earlier that year from Warner Brothers, although the short has nothing to do with Texas. It would be the last Goofy Gophers cartoon produced before Davis' unit was disbanded, and the first time that the Gophers would appear brown and tan. Plot An unnamed dog (who also appeared in The Goofy Gophers) is reading a book and decides to seek wild game, which happens to come in the form of the Goofy Gophers. After trying to get them, only to see the Gophers dive into their hole and then overrun the hole and off a cliff, the dog (upside down, hanging off a tree) discovers four ways to get a gopher: *'The canny hunter would remember that gophers possess an enormous curiosity concerning strange or unfamiliar objects': To this end, the dog places a spring with a punching glove attached to it in a chest. When the Gophers, after deciding to ignore the "Do Not Open until Xmas" sticker, open it, they "see" jewelry in it and take the chest with them. The dog takes the chest away from the Gophers and opens it, only to be punched below his chin, as he bounces like a pogo stick. *'Gophers are quite fond of fresh vegetables which can therefore be used as bait': The dog, knowing that the Gophers are vegeterians, plants a row of radishes in the ground along with a turnip at the end of the row that is booby-trapped to an overhanging rock tied around a nearby tree, which the dog tests with a ball, triggering the trap successfully. Naturally, the Gophers pick up all of the radishes, and after initial trouble, take the turnip---but the trap is not triggered this time. The dog then holds the string, but triggers the trap and is crushed. *'The gopher is a sentimental little creature whose feelings may be played upon to your advantage': The dog places himself in a booby-trapped carriage, with his cries quickly noticed by the Gophers. After discovering the booby trap under the dog (which includes a gun, rifle, bomb, and grenade), the Gophers push the carriage up a hill, and then release the carriage with the dog in it down the cliff on the other side, leaving the dog howling as he goes over several hills and vertically down a second cliff, where he crashes. As the dog claims that the Gophers missed his inner strength, the dog then falls down, stiff as a board. *'If all else fails (and the previous three gags did), you must utilize the gophers' love of music': The dog begins playing what amounts to a one-man band of music, drawing the Gophers' attention as they start dancing to the music. The dog unsuccessfully tries to crush them with cymbals and a banjo that also doubles as a gun, but does drag them to the drums using a trumpet. As the dog tries to crush the gophers on the drums, they evade him and the dog and Gophers end up in the piano, where the Gophers have the dog "trapped like a rat in a trap", as the Gophers then hop all over the piano keys. Hammers attacked to various keys hit the dog in his rear end as the cartoon concludes with the dog regretting having ever read the book. Availability On July 14, 1993, this cartoon is available on side four of The Golden Age of Looney Tunes Vol. 4. However a print with recreated titles is known to exist here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3anjns_two-gophers-from-texas-1948_fun External links * Category:1948 Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts Category:Shorts Category:Cartoons directed by Arthur Davis Category:Blue Ribbon reissues Category:Goofy Gophers Cartoons Category:Cartoons written by Lloyd Turner Category:Cartoons written by Bill Scott Category:Cartoons animated by Emery Hawkins Category:Cartoons animated by Basil Davidovich Category:Cartoons animated by Bill Melendez Category:Cartoons animated by Don Williams Category:Cartoons with layouts by Don Smith Category:Cartoons with backgrounds by Philip DeGuard Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Stan Freberg Category:Cartoons produced by Eddie Selzer